Tips and tricks, advice, start a blog

Once you've chosen a host site for your blog all you usually have to do is follow the instructions, but there are a couple of things you should know to avoid committing faux pas or bad netiquette.

1. Blogs are interactive tools. People can leave comments, which are mostly friendly but not always. Don't get in a tizz about nasty comments: you're free to delete them if you want to.

2. Your blog is a public space people can access. If you don't want your mother to know everything you get up to, you can always limit access to by giving a password out to the people you want to grant access to.

3. If you don't want to get sued for defamation of character or get your car tires slashed, don't insult people, spread rumors or cite people's names. OR be cunning and write in code!

4. It's free to start a blog, but some extra services might cost you. For example, there can be a charge if you go over your storage space limit.

5. Your blog shouldn't be a boring, diary-style affair. It should be animated if you want people to look at it! Brighten up your blog by adding text, photos, videos and music regularly.

6. Blogging is all about sharing and exchange, so why not make a list of links to other blogs you like? Your readers might enjoy them too.

7. Show how original you are by making your blog exciting. Avoid copying and pasting articles from other sites. Paint your page in bright colors, add drawings and random comments. Personalize your page so that it looks like your work!

8. You don't want to be paranoid, but you never know who might be reading your blog and social networking sites such as Facebook have experienced cases of identity fraud. Never give out too much personal info like your address, phone number, when you're going on holiday, and the like.

9. Don't write any old story on your blog just to show off. Don't wax lyrical about the political situation in Turkey because you've spent a week clubbing there. You could be made to look stupid.

10. Know your rights and responsibilities as a blogger. The laws for blogs are identical to the laws that apply for websites. For more info, see the Legal Guide for Bloggers.